Back for their fifth album since forming back in 2009, Australia’s (yes, that’s right) A Night in Texas return with Digital Apocalypse. The deathcore act has gone through a number of vocalists through the years, and Digital Apocalypse marks the debut of growler Sam Cameron on the microphone. But ultimately, the album doesn’t leave enough of a mark to make it more than a merely passable effort instead of a more gargantuan release in the crowded genre.
To be clear, A Night in Texas do a solid job on Digital Apocalypse. They aren’t one of those deathcore bands that rely solely on breakdowns to draw in the scene kids with near-persistent slamming, nor are they the type to over-produce the vocal lines to make it sound gimmicky and draw focus away from the rest of the band. Instead, A Night in Texas simply focus on the usual deathcore regime and produce music that should please fans of the genre but leave everyone else waiting the next album to come down the pipeline. One of the band’s recent singles, “Death Protocol” seems to highlight this. The group utilizes some light synths to augment the overall sound and atmosphere from time to time, they wisely crank up the tempos from time to time into frantic mode, and bring things back into their bread and butter mid-tempo to lay into both massive grooves as well as some more melodic moments. The formula works, but it never really gets anywhere past what’s come to be standard for the genre. “The Destruction of Everything” really brings the chugging, breakdown energy, but thankfully chooses not to linger in that for too long, bringing rapid blasts and bursts of melody to break things up, not to mention an intriguing solo in the latter half of the song.
Ultimately, what makes Digital Apocalypse a must listen or skippable effort is your own dedication to the genre. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it does showcase an understanding of how everything can be effectively pieced together to bring life to a genre that is occasionally devoid of it. A Night in Texas show proficiency, but not quite enough innovation to make a greater name for themselves, for now at least. But for those seeking it, Digital Apocalypse will provide the brutality and breakdowns that you may be hungry for.